Three's A Crowd
by KassyMalone
Summary: Rowdy Gilbert and tomboy Elizavetta grew up together. They always got into trouble together, fought together, laughed together, and Gilbert thought it would always be that way, but when Elizavetta meets dashing young Roderich – the first man to ever treat her like a lady – things start to change. Human AU
1. Chapter 1

So in my last story, I gave my readers the opportunity to vote for what story they wanted next, and I liked a couple of ideas. Unfortunately for me, it was a bloody draw! Anyway, here's the one that won, mostly because I thought it would be the shortest of the options.

* * *

**Three's A Crowd.**

Gilbert walked absently through the grassy field behind his house. It was set to be a fantastic day – the sun was shining, no sign of rain anywhere, he had his fishing net and his mother had packed his favourite sandwiches, and best of all, it was the first day of the summer holidays! He was determined to catch as many frogs and tiddlers as he could at the creek, and if he was certain his mother couldn't see him, he might even go into the field on the other side of the river! That was his mission this summer – to go play somewhere that he couldn't see his house! That was really grown up, that was – Antonio from school got to play where-ever he wanted (although he had a really big family, so there was always someone around to watch him).

He reached the creek – the water was clear and fast, and he could see the little fish swishing about in the current. Chucking his net and bucket down, he pulled off his shoes. A rustling in the tree above him caught his attention and he looked up.

"GRARR!"

"WHAAA?!"

A body fell out of the tree, landing squarely on top of him. Shocked, he squealed like a girl as the body fell against him – that really hurt! The body laughed hysterically. Luckily, it wasn't much bigger than he was, decked out in a yellow t-shirt and shorts.

"Why did you do that?!" Gilbert demanded "That's mean! And dangerous!"

"Hm?"

The other kid looked at him – he had big green eyes, his brown hair tied back into a ponytail. He grinned at him mischievously.

"I wanted to hear you squeal." He admitted with a grin "You screamed louder than my little brother!"

"I did not!" Gilbert argued "I only screamed 'cos it hurt!"

"Whoa!"

The boy got right in his face, staring at his eyes and hair.

"Your eyes are red!" he pointed out "That's so cool! How did that happen?"

Gilbert grimaced.

"I was born with them." He pouted "And they aren't cool! The guys at school make fun of me…"

"Those guys are lame." The boy said right away "Your eyes are amazing!"

Gilbert didn't get compliments often, so this made him very happy – despite his abrupt introduction, he was starting to like the boy.

"I'm going fishing." He pointed out "Wanna join me?"

The boy grinned and nodded, finally getting up off him and helping him to his feet.

"Oh, but I only have one net." Gilbert remembered.

"That's okay!" the boy assured "My house if just over there, I'll go get mine – stay here, okay?"

The boy ran right through the creek and into the field on the other side, bolting through it to the houses behind. It felt like it took an eternity for him to reappear, brandishing a bright orange net triumphantly. The two mucked about in the creek until they got hungry, catching all the biggest fish they could find and depositing them safely in their buckets. Gilbert was liking this boy more and more – he could catch frogs with his bare hands! Gilbert liked him so much that he shared his special lunch with him. Sick of fishing, the two played 'it', hide-and-seek and knights-and-dragons, whacking each other with the sticks they found in the field.

At dusk, Gilberts mother appeared out the back gate, calling for him to come in. She was surprised to see him playing with another child, and Gilbert was eager to show off his new friend, pulling him along by the hand.

"…And he catches frogs and can run really fast and climbed trees really high and-"

"Slow down, sweetheart." His mother laughed "Slow down!" she turned to his new friend, leaning down to look him in the eye "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Elizavetta Herdavary." He introduced enthusiastically, holding out his hand "Pleased to meet you!"

His mother looked surprised a moment, then smiled and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sweetie." She greeted "I'm Gilberts Mummy. Where do you live?"

"Over there." His friend pointed across the field "In the red house. We just moved in."

"Really? Is it a nice house?"

"Yeah, I have my own room now!" he enthused.

"That's great."

Gilberts mother stood strait, smoothing out the creases in her sensible skirt.

"Does your Mummy mind you being so far away?" she asked "Won't she worry?"

"Mummy's in a grave." He answered bluntly "And Daddy doesn't worry about things like that."

A loud, deep yell echoed over the fields. The kids looked around to see a large man standing on the far side in front of the red house.

"That's Daddy." The boy pointed out "I have to go in now."

"Let's play again tomorrow!" Gilbert insisted.

"Ask your Daddy if you can come over for lunch, okay Lizzie?" his mother offered.

"I will!" the boy assured as he ran off back down the field.

Watching him run away, Gilberts mother brushed her fingers through her sons hair.

"Come on, sweetheart." She said again "Dinner's nearly ready."

* * *

"Don't touch them!"

"It's alright, they're fine!"

"You'll break them!"

"Will not!"

The two balanced precariously in the trees branches, admiring the little blue eggs in the nest.

"Such a pretty colour." Lizzie cooed "I wish my bedroom was that colour."

"Well I-WHOA!"

The branch broke under Gilbert, sending him plummeting to the ground, where he landed squarely on his bum.

"You okay?!" Lizzie called.

"Oh yeah." Gilbert groaned "That only hurt a lot."

Lizzie jumped down to him, helping him stand as he fought back the tears.

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"No!" Gilbert insisted, even as the tears rolled down his pained face.

"You wanna go home?"

He nodded, and the two of them headed back to Gilberts house – they were scolded by his Mummy for climbing so high before being given a plate of watermelon and told to go back outside. Lizzies Daddy had said it was okay for him to come over, only so long as it was okay with Gilberts Mummy, so the two of them were together a lot – the boys from school lived too far away for Gilbert to play with them every day like he did Lizzie.

"I like watermelon." Gilbert confessed "But I hate the seeds."

He spat a seed out onto the ground. As he did so, he realised he'd be in really big trouble if his Mummy caught him spitting and spun around to see if she had noticed – luckily her back was still turned, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't tell Mummy I spat!" he urged Lizzie anyway "I'll get in trouble!"

As if in answer, Lizzie spat out his own seed. He laughed triumphantly as it went further before hitting the ground than Gilberts had.

"I totally beat you!" he declared.

"No way!"

Gilbert stuffed a massive bite of watermelon into his mouth, removed the seeds with his tongue and swallowed the rest. He spat them all out, cheering when one landed further away than the rest. Lizzie grimaced – he wouldn't be beat, and soon the two of them were locked in competition. They only stopped when Gilberts Mummy caught them, scolding them for being dirty and giving them both a good clip around the ear.

They ran off into the field, sore but laughing.

* * *

"I'm sorry about this." Lizzies Daddy said to Gilberts Mummy "I know how last minute it is."

"It's alright." She assured him "It's not that long ago I was working myself – I remember how unreasonable bosses can be."

"I'll repay you any way I can." He assured, handing Lizzies little brother to her.

"It's alright." She assured again as she took the lad "Just you come back in one piece, Sadik."

Lizzie and his little brother waved goodbye to their Daddy – his mean boss had called him away because of meetings, so the two of them would be staying with Gilbert and his Mummy and Grandpa for a couple of days. Gilbert was super-excited – he had never had a friend sleep over before! Sure, Lizzie came over all the time during that day, but this was different!

"Let's play Mariokart!" Gilbert suggested, grabbing Lizzies hand and dragging him to the living room.

"Gilbert, not so rough!" his Mummy scolded, but the two of them were long gone.

Gilberts Grandpa read the paper in the living room, looking up briefly as the two kids bundled into the room. The boy grabbed up the two controllers and held them out to his friend.

"Green or blue?" he asked.

"Green!" Lizzie chose immediately.

The two played Mariokart for some time that evening. Lizzies little brother Heracles toddled over and sat with them, and they gave him a spare controller (that wasn't plugged into the machine) to play with until Grandpa told them it was time for dinner. They ate sausages with mash potatoes, and after Gilberts Mummy put Heracles to bed, she read the two of them stories until they fell asleep.

* * *

"He looks like a monkey."

"He does not!"

"He really does – Heracles looked like a monkey when he was born too."

Gilbert pouted at Lizzie – his little brother did not look like a monkey! Sure, his face was a little scrunchy, but he had just been born!

"Doesn't look like a monkey." He muttered.

"I'm putting you down." Grandpa announced "Old mans arms are getting tired."

He put the kids down in the hospital corridor, and they stood on their tip-toes trying to look back into the room with all the babies to keep looking at Gilberts new brother.

"His eyes are blue." Lizzie pointed out "That's too bad."

"That's good!" Gilbert insisted "He won't get picked on by those jerks now."

"That ain't right!"

"Whassat?"

Lizzie looked at him seriously.

"You're his big brother!" he pointed out "It's your job to make sure no-one picks on him! If they do, you have to beat them up! That's what big brothers are for!"

"Really?"

"Of course!" he insisted "When Heracles comes to school with us, I'll beat up anyone who picks on him!"

"Wow, that's cool… alright!" he agreed triumphantly "By the time he's old enough to go to school, I'm gonna be super strong and great and make sure no one ever picks on him!"

"Hey, keep it down, you two." Grandpa urged, patting them both on the head "The babies are trying to sleep."

They hushed up, peaking into the room again, and Gilbert waved to his baby brother, who he would swear for the rest of his life waved back.

* * *

Summer ended all too soon – the sky started getting dark earlier and it was colder during the day. Worst of all, it was time for school to start again. Lizzie was worried because he didn't know anyone, but Gilbert assured him it was going to be fine, because they were friends and he was going to be there too.

Grandpa dropped him off early. He didn't like being back in his itchy uniform, but he was super excited to see his friends again. Francis' Mummy had gotten married, and he hadn't cut his hair since the end of school, and Antonio had gone to stay with his Grandma and gotten super tanned! Gilbert told them all about his monkey-faced little brother and his awesome new friend, and the others were looking forward to meeting him.

Gilbert got a shock when Lizzie finally turned up – he looked thoroughly unhappy, had his hair tied in bunches at either side of his head, and most importantly, was wearing a girls uniform. His Daddy spotted Gilbert and his friends and called them over.

"I have to talk to the head master for a bit." He told the boys "Will you show Lizzie around for me, Gilbert?"

"Yes, sir!" he swore.

They didn't move or say a work until his disappeared into the school building. Gilbert couldn't help but snicker.

"You look stupid in a dress." He pointed out.

"Gilbert!" Francis scolded him.

"I know!" Lizzie protested anyway "I hate dresses! I wanted to wear shorts too, but teacher said I couldn't!"

"Hey, is 'Lizzie' short for 'Elizabetta'?" Antonio asked airily.

"That's close." She admitted "It's Elizavetta, with a 'v'."

"Of course, a pretty girl needs a pretty name." Francis said like it was obvious.

"Whaaaa?!" Gilbert shrieked.

"You trying to pick a fight?!" Lizzie challenged, squaring up to him.

"No no no!" he backed right away, hiding behind Antonio "I hate fighting! I'll get dirty!"

Antonio just laughed while Lizzie looked confused. Gilbert was of course most confused – Lizzie was a girl? But that was impossible! Girls liked pink and dolls and brushing hair and hated frogs and climbing trees and videogames!

The bell rang, calling them all in to start lessons. Gilberts mind was still reeling as Francis and Antonio pulled him inside.

* * *

With the return of his friends came the return of the kids that picked on him. As soon as the playtime bell rang, the kid with the spikey haired and the lurch with the glasses had him pinned.

"Hey, rat eyes, how was your summer?" the spikey haired kid asked, poking him in the head "Did you meet any other rats outside of school?"

The lurch with the glasses said nothing, like always. Gilbert looked for an escape, but his friends were nowhere around and the teachers were in the staff room. These kids were bigger than him, and he didn't want to get into a fight on the first day back.

"What's that, rat eyes?" the spikey haired kid challenged, leaning down so they were eye-to-eye "I didn't hear you. Squeak louder!"

He really, really wanted to punch him, especially as he started laughing, but he didn't want to get hit. The spikey haired kid started slapping him 'playfully' on the top of the head.

"Hey!" a voice commanded.

The three looked around – Lizzie squared up to the bullies.

"You leave him alone!" she ordered "Or else!"

The spikey haired boy just laughed, completely dismissing her.

"Go make some daisy chains with the other girls." He quipped.

That was his mistake – Lizzie tackled him immediately, slamming him into the wall in front of him.

"Take that, cockerel head!" she swore, causing the lurch with glasses to snort in laughter.

The spikey haired boy was furious, spinning around quickly to hit her, but Gilbert punched him hard in the chest, causing him to lose his balance and fall down painfully.

* * *

Lizzie may be a girl, but she sure fought like a boy. The spikey haired boy was told off the worst when the teachers found them scuffling in the playground, but Lizzie and Gilbert got told off too. His Mummy was very concerned that he had been fighting, but Lizzies Daddy seemed to think it was funny, so he didn't ground her. If anything, Gilbert was told off more by his Mummy for getting Lizzie involved. Lizzie herself was more upset that she hadn't hit the cockerel head harder.

The sun was setting as they sat under the tree by the creek – they wanted to put their feet in the water, but they didn't want to get their feet dirty when they walked back across the field.

"Hey, is Francis a girl?" Lizzie asked Gilbert suddenly.

"It's hard to tell." He admitted "I think he might be."

They both laughed. With yells coming from each side of the field, they bid good night and went in for their tea.

* * *

"I'm going to smack you in the head until you get up, Gilbert."

"You're an evil woman."

"Evil and impatient."

"Ow! Ow! Okay, okay!"

14 year-old Gilbert glared at his friend, who wielded her notebook above his head. It was the Easter holidays, why couldn't he sleep in?! Despite their long friendship, he was getting to the age where he was self-conscious about his scrawny frame, and was a little uncomfortable with Lizzie seeing his bare chest.

"Would you mind leaving me alone so I can get dressed?" he asked her.

"You'll go back to sleep." She knew.

"I will not!" he swore.

"You will." came a dissenting voice from the hallway.

They looked around – Luddy wiped his eyes sleepily, dragging his blanket behind him. Seeing her opportunity, Lizzie grabbed him up.

"Luddy, you're such a good boy!" she cooed "Stay here and make sure your brother gets up and I'll make you anything you want for breakfast!"

"Can I have waffles?" the child asked, clearly still half asleep.

"Of course, sweetie!" she swore, putting him down on Gilberts back as he lay on the bed "You take this and hit Gilly with it when he doesn't get up, okay?"

"Okay." Ludwig agreed, taking the notebook.

Lizzie left. Gilbert sighed to himself – didn't girls grow up faster than boys? How was she not awkward about seeing him in his underwear? Luddy smacked him on the head with the notebook.

"Knock that off, Luddy." Gilbert asked.

He smacked him again. With a growl, Gilbert spun around, grabbing his little brother and foisting him onto the bed. Luddy squealed as Gilbert pulled up his pyjama top and planted a planted a series of wet raspberries on his stomach. The boy screamed and laughed hysterically, kicking his legs, but couldn't break free of his brother. Gilbert only stopped when his Grandfather opened the door.

"Don't you and your friends have plans today?" he pointed out "When are you meeting? Hurry up and get dressed."

Free from his brothers grip, Luddy ran off. Gilbert and his friends were going swimming, so he put his swimming shorts on under his jeans, stuffing a spare pair of pants into his sports bag with his towel. His ran his fingers through his still-white hair (the dye hadn't taken, which was a pain) and ran a brush over his teeth before heading downstairs. Lizzie had left her bag by the front door, and was in the kitchen making waffles for Luddy.

"Good morning, mum!" Gilbert greeted the beautiful photograph that sat on the counter by the front door "We're going swimming today! Look after Luddy while I'm out, okay?"

Soon enough, Lizzie reappeared, and Grandpa gave them the usual lecture before letting them head out.

"…And look out for cars." He finished "Just because it's the middle of the day doesn't mean you don't have to be careful."

"We know, Mr Beilschmidt." Lizzie promised.

"Alright then. Where's your brother today?"

"His friends cat had kittens, so he's practically living there for the next week." She revealed with a laugh.

"Sounds about right." Grandpa laughed as well before turning to Gilbert "Enjoy your time with your friends – next time you're taking Ludwig swimming with you. Dinner will be ready at 7. Will you be staying, Elizavetta?"

"If that's okay, sir."

"_Ja_. Okay, have fun."

"Yes, sir!"

They finally left, jogging down the road.

"And be careful!" Grandpa called after them.

"Yes, sir!" they both called back.

The town of Hetalia wasn't a big place, and was known for its large number of families and low crime levels. The streets were clean and the people were friendly, so the two kids could go about their business with impunity. They met Francis and Antonio at the corner store, where the boys had had the foresight to stock up on drink and snacks.

"What a surprise, only half an hour late!" Francis criticised, crushing his can and throwing it in the trash "You are improving!"

"What's eating him?" Gilbert asked, as being openly confrontational wasn't Francis' style.

"His mother is getting married." Antonio revealed as he handed the two their drinks.

"Again?"

"Any siblings this go round?" Lizzie asked.

"Four of them!" Francis shrieked "Three older, one younger, all boys! I have to _share_ my room!"

"No wonder you're pissed." Gilbert laughed.

"Hey, we've all got brothers." Antonio pointed out "You're one of us now, Francis."

"One of us, one of us." The three chanted together maniacally, freaking Francis right out.

After swimming, the four loitered around town – none of them really had any money, so they lay about shooting the breeze, skipping rocks into the big river in the centre of town and window shopping in the high street.

"But I reeeeaaaally want it." Antonio whined, face pressed up against the turtle tank in the fish shop.

"You can't afford it." Gilbert pointed out.

"But it's so cuuuute."

Lizzie pulled him out so they could continue. Getting tired, they found some steps to loiter on, passing around the leftover drinks and snacks.

"Lizzie, isn't your dad back today?" Antonio remembered.

"Yeah, he should be home by now." She confirmed "He's got a little time off before he has to go back to work."

"What does he do anyway?" Francis asked.

"Something to do with coffee." She knew "I'm not exactly sure what."

"I wish my old man would go away every now and then." Antonio mused "Not forever, you know, just like a week or two. If he did, maybe I wouldn't have to work in the restaurant so much." He turned to Gilbert "Heard from your dad lately?"

Gilbert huffed.

"That waste of space? I haven't heard from him in months. Grandpa might kick his ass if he called."

No one asked Francis about his father – they all knew the answer.

Since Antonio had to pull his weight at the family restaurant, they parted ways before it got late. Francis walked with Lizzie and Gilbert most of the way home, grumbling about his mothers upcoming marriage and having four new brothers. He startled all of a sudden, catching the other attention.

"That's him!" he declared, half way between a whisper and a yell, pointing down the road "The younger one!"

They looked down the road – a scruffy urchin glared at them from around the corner, running off before they could get a good look at him.

"Oi!" Francis yelled "Arthur, get back here!"

He ran after the kid, throwing his goodbye over his shoulder. Deciding to take a shortcut, the two of them headed to Lizzies house to cut through the field at the back. As expected, Lizzies fathers big car was in the driveway and the living room light was on.

"Hi Dad!" Lizzie called as they walked in.

"Hey, Sadik!" Gilbert called as well to let him know he was there.

"Hey, kids!" he called back, voice as deep and rich as ever.

They found him sat at the kitchen table, technically still in his suit, but with his tie completely disappeared and every button on his shirt undone. The whole kitchen smelled of coffee as he sat reading the paper.

"How was your trip?" Lizzie asked as she gave her father a hug.

"Hot and boring." He reported as he hugged her back "Your present's on your bed. Is your brother still at that little Japanese boys place?"

"As far as we know." Gilbert admitted.

Sadik took a good look at Gilberts face, smirking in approval with his cigarette between his teeth.

"That shiner healed up nicely." He pointed out "You staying out of trouble, boy?"

"Of course." He assured.

Sadik laughed in a way that stated that he didn't believe him, but didn't really mind.

"I'm eating at Gilberts place today." Lizzie reported as she threw the contents of her swimming bag into the wash.

"That's fine. I didn't feel like cooking anyway."

"Would you like to join us?" Gilbert offered.

"If it's okay with the old man."

"Sure, I don't think he's started yet. I'll go ask."

Lizzie went to leave with Gilbert, but her father grabbed her hand.

"Not you." He ordered "I have something I need to talk to you about."

Lizzie and Gilbert looked between themselves, wondering what they had done that he had heard about.

"You're not in trouble." He promised "I just need to talk to you."

Reluctantly, Gilbert left, and Lizzie took a seat at the kitchen table with her father. He was silent for a moment, staring at her face, before putting his cigarette out and taking a swig of coffee.

"I've been thinking lately." He admitted "How would you feel if I got married?"

"Do you even have a girlfriend?" Lizzie asked, because as far as she was aware, her father hadn't even been on a date since her mother died.

"No." he admitted with a laugh "Between work and you kids, who has time for romance?"

"Then what's this bull about getting married?" she laughed.

"Aah, just something people at work have been saying." He admitted "'Girls need a mother', they say. I figured I could raise you alone well enough. I mean, you're alive and got all your limbs, so I can't be doing that badly. But it's been bugging me lately – they say it's obvious you don't have a mother, and it kind of pisses me off."

"Girls at school say the same thing." She admitted "But it doesn't bother me. I like out little family. Besides, the idea of you getting married just so I have a mother is kind of sad."

"You sure you wouldn't like having another woman around?"

"What the hell for?"

Lizzie got up from the table, punching her father playfully on the arm as she left.

"Dinner's at 7!" she reported "Don't be late or Grandpa will tan your hide!"

Sadik just laughed, taking another mouthful of coffee.

* * *

"My hand hurts." Gilbert moaned "I have never seen so many potatoes. I think I may never want to see another one, like, ever."

"Stop whining and kill those zombies." Lizzie ordered as she took out a horde herself "You act like you've never peeled a spud before."

"I've never peeled _that many_ before!" Gilbert pointed out "You usually help."

"So get Luddy to help."

"Grandpa won't let him have knives." He reminded her.

"What about those blunt ones your mother used to give us?" she asked.

"Not after the hand-stabbing incident."

Lizzie snorted in laughter as she remembered.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten."

"And let's not forget the hair-cutting incident!" Gilbert reminded her again as he took out the zombies "Or the setting-the-christmas-tree-on-fire incident, or the shoes-over-the-telephone-wire-incident."

"Is that why Luddys shoes are all Velcro?" Lizzie laughed.

"They're still up there, you know!"

"Ah, stop yakking and kill those bastards!"

The two yelled at the screen and mashed the buttons frantically, Gilbert complaining about his achy hands and Lizzie telling him to stop whining. The level ended, and they settled down at the cutscene.

"So what did your dad want?" Gilbert asked.

"Nothing important." She assured "That whole 'girls need a mother' B.S."

"Been hearing that a lot lately." Gilbert thought.

"I know, it's lame. I got all my limbs. I got a roof over my head and food to eat. If I'm that desperate to talk to a woman I can always talk to Francis' mother. I may not remember my mother, but I remember yours – I'm not deprived. Not at all."

Gilbert paused the game. Something in her tone rung false. Sure enough, she looked a little upset. She pulled a thoughtful face, putting her controller down and looking at Gilbert. She clearly wanted to say something, but was unsure.

"Gilbert…" she started "Am I… pretty?"

"Ha?"

She blushed heavily, looking in the other direction.

"Not that I care!" she assured "It's not like I want a boyfriend or anything. I'm happy the way I am, but…" she sighed "I guess…I'm starting to become aware of how different from the other girls I am. When people compliment other girls it's all 'you're so pretty!', but with me it's like 'you're so strong!'"

"You don't like being strong?" Gilbert asked.

"Of course I do!" she assured "Have you seen these guns? I've got more muscles than you, skinny!"

They both laughed, but Lizzie grew serious again.

"It'd just be… I dunno, _nice_… if I was pretty too."

Gilbert thought a moment – he didn't know Lizzie thought about things like this – she was undoubtedly the toughest of their little gang, always the first to throw down and the last to run away. Thinking off her as a girl, rather than just, y'know, _Lizzie,_ was a little odd.

"Well, you're a girl." He reasoned "And it's against the law for girls not to be pretty, so you must be."

Elizavetta smirked at him, pulling her 'are you kidding me?' face.

"But anyway, you don't want to be too pretty!" he pointed out "Or else Francis will want to go out with you! Or Worse! You'll start to look like him!"

Lizzie burst out laughing at the thought.

"You're right!" she cried "He is the prettiest girl in town, isn't he?"

They both laughed – Francis had been mistaken for a girl on more than one occasion, and his long hair and frilly clothes certainly didn't help! Lizzie sighed as they stopped laughing.

"Aw, I needed that." She admitted "Thanks, Gil."

"No sweat." He assured "And don't worry about what those other girls say – you're awesome the way you are!"

Lizzie smiled at him, blushing slightly.

"Turn the game off!" Grandpa called from downstairs "You need to bathe Ludwig! It's time Elizavetta went home!"

"Yes, sir!" they chorused.

As they left his bedroom, Gilbert was suddenly struck by inspiration and ran into his mothers bedroom. If Lizzie was worried about not being pretty, well, his mother had been the prettiest woman in the whole world! He rooted around in her dresser drawer a moment.

"Gilly, what are you doing?" she asked, poking her head around the door "Grandpa's gonna get mad!"

"He he'll get mad." He reasoned "Found it!"

"Found what?"

He pulled out his mothers hairclip – it was by the far the very girliest thing in the entire house! It was a bright orange flower cluster made from silk, with delicate little beading in the centre of each. Supposedly, his father had given it to his mother years ago, but Gilbert doubted that prick had ever been so generous. Flicking on the overhead light, Lizzie held very still as he slipped it into her hair.

"Take a look!" he urged, pulling her to the dresser.

She took a look – she was the same as always, of course, but with a thing in her hair. But it was a girly thing, and that was the crux of it. However, it seemed to make her pretty happy, and she fingered it gently.

"Is it really okay for me to have this?" she asked.

"Of course!" Gilbert reasoned "My hair will never be long enough for it."

Lizzie laughed at the thought.

"And I doubt it would suit Grandpa, although his hair is long enough!" he elaborated, causing her to laughed even more "We could put it in Luddy's hair, but he might cry!"

"What's taking you so long?"

Grandpa appeared in the doorway, attracted by the noise – he didn't like the kids going into his daughters room, so they immediately held their breath, thinking they were in for a serious lecture. However, the old man held his tongue, inspecting the scene before him.

"It suits you." Is all he said before proceeding to the bathroom to run Luddys bath.

* * *

So, that was a short (long) intro chapter. We get into the story proper next time! Please look forward to it!


	2. Chapter 2 Times Rolls On

****Please excuse any error you see - I wrote the lions share of this on the prehistoric work computer, which delights in leaving in as many errors as it can, no matter how many times I spell check. I've got them where I've seen them, but please forgive the ones I missed!

* * *

**Time Rolls On.**

The five of them sat in the head masters office, none of them sorry, at least two of them defiantly, and all of them a little worse for wear. The head master rubbed his temples as he sat as his desk – it had already been a long day, and he really didn't want to be dealing with his right now. Why was it always the same group of rowdys?

So once again, someone had picked a fight with little Arthur Kirkland, knowing him to be of short temper and stature, not expecting him to be quite so proficient at fighting back. Said instigator was of course Mathias Køhler, who seemed incapable of keeping his opinion to himself or his mouth closed. Seeing his friend getting picked on, Ivan Braginski – who was far too big for his age and a good boy if you left him alone – decided to intervene, which of course garnered the attention of the everyone within a 500 metre radius, including noted trouble-maker and friend of Arthurs step-brother, Gilbert Beilschmidt, who seldom missed an opportunity to get into a fight. With Mathias on the wrestling team and the biggest of the boys (although for how long was debateable with Ivan still growing), he didn't seem to be having any trouble keeping the other three at bay. Until Elizavetta Héderváry got involved.

Never before had this educator met such an un-ladylike student. Her long hair and girls uniform were a mask of femininity under which lay another rowdy teenage boy. Upon seeing her idiot boyfriend getting into yet another fight, she had waded in to break it up, and succeeded in breaking Mathais' nose…again. The five students sat before his desk waiting for him to speak, but no words came out – what could he say that he hadn't before? With a sigh, he sentenced Mathias to a weeks suspension for picking on the younger students, gave Gilbert and Elizavetta a weeks detention each, ordered Arthur to spend 3 hours after school tomorrow in the quiet room and gave Ivan a stern telling off.

Mathias grumbled as they filed out of the office.

"Why was I given the harshest punishment?" he griped.

"Because you started it." Lizzie pointed out.

"Pardon? Did the hemale say something?"

Mathias received a rough smack on the head. Looking around in shock, he saw it was Gilberts grandfather who had struck him – his own mother stood behind him in the hallway, clearly fuming.

"I didn't raise you to be so disrespectful to women!" she nearly yelled, marching forward and grabbing him by the ear "Why can't you ever keep your hands to yourself? Wait until your father gets home! Your cousin Berwald is such a good boy!"

She continued to berate him as she dragged him down the hallway, ignoring his protestations. Lizzie and Gilbert smirked to themselves, but their mirth was short-lived as they also received smacks to the head from Grandpa and a disapproving glare. He didn't bother saying anything – they had had the lecture so many times before that it didn't bare repeating – but turned on his heels and walked away, the two following him with the heads bowed. Francis and Ivans elder sister Katyusha loitered in the hallway as well.

"Arthur!" Francis scolded the moment he saw him "Why didn't you come and find big brother if someone was picking on you?"

"Why the hell would I?" was his spat response, storming right past him down the hall.

"Arthur, hold on!"

Francis ran after him. Katyusha patted her brother down, checking for wounds and cuts and fixing his hair. He just smiled patiently. Satisfied, she sighed.

"Please don't get into fights, Ivan." She urged "You promised me that Arthur wouldn't be a bad influence."

"I'm sorry." He assured, voice squeaking where it was in the process of breaking "I tried talking but he wouldn't listen."

She sighed again and patted his head.

"You're a good boy." She assured "Please be more careful."

She took his hand, leading him down the corridor with another sigh – they were already late picking up Natalia from middle school.

* * *

"Man, that guy never learns!" Antonio laughed as he placed the wooden platter of garlic bread on the table.

"Tell me about it!" Prussia agreed "He should know by now that I'm too awesome for him to beat me!"

Lizzie and Francis, sat on the other side of the table, grumbled.

"Did you break his nose?" Ludwig asked as he took a slice of the garlic bread.

"Uh…"

Gilbert really wanted to say that he had, but between his Grandpas lecturing and the fact it was actually Lizzie, he thought it might be best to hold his tongue. Wiping his hands on his apron, Antonio just laughed.

"His nose has been broken so many times, it probably just fell out." He reasoned, saving Gilbert from an awkward explanation "You want another lemonade, champ?"

"Yes, please." Ludwig asked, handing Antonio his empty glass.

Being early in the evening, the traditional restaurant Antonios family owned was still pretty empty, so he could loiter at their table with them without getting scolded by his mother for slacking off. Since he worked at the place most days, if they wanted to hang out with him they had to come here – his parents were of course used to this by now, and gave the group free drinks and garlic bread, but anything else they had to pay for. It wasn't an awful place to hang out – it was warm and dry in the winter and had the benefit of free drinks in the summer.

Francis checked his phone again, pouting.

"Answer your phone, Arthur!" he mumbled to himself as he flicked through his contacts.

"You worry about him too much." Gilbert pointed out "Give the kid some space!"

"Says the man surgically attached to his little brother!" he retorted.

Gilbert covered Ludwigs ears, gasping theatrically. Luddy was too used to this kind of thing to pay it much mind, and happily continued eating his garlic bread.

"That kid's got such a temper." Lizzie thought aloud "I admit I don't know his brothers very well, but they don't seem so bad."

Francis snorted – his mothers marriage seemed to be lasting this time, meaning he was stuck with the four Kirkland boys for brothers. Luckily the older two had moved out and gone to university, but that still left the younger two, plus the latest editions to the family. Pampered and fashion-conscious Francis had had more than a little trouble adjusting to their boorish ways, but had – for reasons his friends couldn't fathom – become unnaturally attached to the youngest one.

"He wasn't so bad until the twins were born." Francis reported, speedily typing a text message "These days I'm lucky if he comes home at night."

"Don't your parents tell him off?" Lizzie asked, concerned.

He huffed again.

"Like they'd notice."

Antonio returned with a fresh round of drinks.

"Hey, I just remembered!" he cheered "My cousin has tickets for the semi-finals. You guys wanna go?"

"Are you serious?!" Gilbert shrieked, almost jumping up from his chair "The semi-finals?!"

"Why isn't he going?" Francis asked.

"He had to work. None of his friends could make it either, since they all had kids and stuff."

"Antonio, you better not be pulling our legs or I will beat you to death with this garlic bread!" Lizzie warned.

"Would I joke about the semi-finals?" he assured "It's legit!"

"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Gilbert shrieked "We are totally there! We're so there, we're practically there right now!"

"Oh my god, oh my god, the semi-finals!" Lizzie enthused just as dramatically, practically jumping up and down in her seat "My dad is going to be so jealous!"

They all looked at Francis, who was oddly sedate considering the earth shattering news they had just been given. He was still staring moodily at his phone.

"Semi-finals of what?" Ludwig asked, not following what the teens were talking about.

"The World Cup, Luddy!" Gilbert told him "The single most important sporting event ever!"

"I thought that was the Olympics?" the child asked innocently.

"Only if you aren't manly enough for the awesomeness that it the World Cup!"

"Huh."

"To think we'll actually be there!" Lizzie agreed "Not just watching it on TV this year!"

"That means we'll miss the party." Ludwig realised.

"That's okay, little man." Antonio assured, ruffling his hair "The best parties happen at the finals anyway."

With a gut wrenching realisation, Gilbert paled.

"Hey… how many tickets do you have?" he asked Antonio.

"Six." He replied with a smile and a wink, knowing exactly what he had just realised "Enough for us four, Luddy and one more."

"Will Heracles want to come?" Ludwig asked Lizzie.

"Nah, he's not really into sport." She admitted, slight disappointment in her voice "There are no cats or sleeping involved." He sighed to herself "We should probably take an 'adult' as the sixth."

A groan spread through the four teens. Ludwig looked at them curiously – he wasn't yet old enough that his every action was a desperate attempt at freedom, so he couldn't quite understand their attitude.

"If Grandpa goes we won't have any fun." Gilbert knew "In bed by nine, no talking. Haha."

"Yeah, it's a 'no' for me too – it was hard enough getting time off for myself to go." Antonio agreed.

"I guess I'll ask my dad, but I already know the answer." Lizzie offered "He'll say 'you're already 17 and you're with all your friends, what do you need me for?'"

"We may have to bite the bullet…" Gilbert thought "Unless…"

"Don't even ask." Francis knew right away "Henry's too busy, my mother would rather die than be caught watching football, and if Alistair and Douglas even catch a whiff of us having tickets we can kiss them goodbye." He pouted a moment "Arthur would probably like to go, though."

Gilbert groaned – either way, he was going to have to beg Grandpa to let him take Luddy, especially after what happened last time the teens had tried to take him somewhere (his ears were still ringing 2 years later). Well, the earlier he bought it up the better.

Antonios mother yelled from the kitchen that the dinner shift was starting, which was shorthand for 'get your free-loading friends out of my restaurant', so they departed into the evening, Gilbert giving Luddy a piggyback down the road.

"Francis, put your phone away while you're walking!" Lizzie scolded "If you walk into a post, you'll get a black eye!"

Francis grumbled and stuck his phone in his bag.

"Man, this summer is going to be awesome!" Gilbert thrilled, practically hopping "Semi-finals! I can't wait! I knew there had to be some perks from him having such a big family!"

"Walk normally!" Ludwig begged, holding onto his shoulders to dear life.

"If we're going into the city anyway, we may as well make a week of it." Lizzie suggested.

"We can go shopping!" Francis realised with a happy gasp.

"Or we can not." Gilbert quipped

"You're no fun."

"Sounds expensive." Ludwig pointed out.

The three teens groaned – it made their hearts heavy that the child in their group was the voice of reason. Gilbert did the sums in his head – 4/5 adults, 1 or 2 children, accommodation, food, travel, expenses… he audibly groaned.

"I need a job." He grumbled.

"I need a better job." Lizzie sighed, having done similar calculations herself.

"Let me know what my share is." Francis said airily, since worrying about money was neither necessary nor important to him.

"Maybe we should ask Grandpa to come." Gilbert thought.

"A week in the city with your grandpa?" Francis grimaced "Maybe I'll just meet you there."

"I thought you liked Grandpa." Ludwig asked.

"I do, tiger!" he assured with a wink "He's just very…"

"Strict." Lizzie knew.

"Unweilding?" Gilbert suggested.

"Old." Francis settled "I was going to say old."

"Francis is spoilt." Lizzie 'whispered' to Ludwig, leaning over Gilberts back "He's used to getting his own way, and he can't do that with Grandpa."

Ludwig grinned. Certainly, no one got their own way with Grandpa. Francis said goodbye to them at the cross roads, immediately fishing his phone back out of his bag.

With the promise of summer on the horizon, the afternoons were getting longer, and the smell of the grass and spring flowers drifted up into the early evening air. They walked along the riverbank to get home – until recently it had been surrounded by fields, but now the area had been covered in houses. It was a crying shame – Gilbert and Lizzie remembered fondly their 11th – 13th summers spend mucking about in the fields, playing football and fishing in the river. Gilbert in particular, as he had taught Ludwig to kick a ball about in those fields.

As they entered the road that led to Lizzies house, they spotted Heracles and his friend Kiku fussing over a cat on the side of the road.

"Stop harassing that animal, Hairy-cuticles!" Gilbert teased, loud enough to make the cat jump up and run away.

Heracles glared at him as he stood – he was only 14, but he was already the same size as Gilbert.

"Guess what!" Ludwig nearly yelled at them "We're going to the World Cup! Semi-finals!"

"Oh, that sounds great!" Kiku said "You're very lucky."

"Meat-head." Heracles mumbled, eyes firmly on Gilbert.

"Oh, you're not still mad about that cat?" he asked "Don't you have like three inside?"

"Yes." He admitted curtly "But that was a Siamese cat."

"Oh drop it, Heracles." His sister ordered "It's not like you won't see it again."

With a final glare at Gilbert, he turned to his sister, his tone softening.

"By the way, I got my internship at the vet." He reported to her in his usual laid-back manner "I start the Wednesday after school ends."

"That's great!" Lizzie congratulated, punching him playfully on the shoulder "I'm so proud of you!"

"Just don't fall asleep in the surgery or you'll get fired." Gilbert teased, earning him another glare.

Kiku made his excuses and left – like Antonio, he also had to work at the family restaurant from time to time, only it was his brother that owned it instead of his parents. Lizzie and Heracles father happened to be in when they arrived, and as expected, he was very jealous of their news.

"It's all I've been hearing about since it started!" he reported "The Italian guy I work with has been going on and on ever since he found out it was going to be in this country." He snorted in laughter "Apparently, it's illegal in Italy to take time off work to watch football."

"Sounds harsh." Gilbert agreed.

"Football's for meat-heads." Heracles proffered as he wandered up the stairs.

Sadik shook his head at his back – what kind of boy didn't like football?

"So it's okay to go?" Lizzie confirmed, although no one expect him to say 'no.'

"Who else is going?" Sadik asked.

"Francis and Antonio." She explained.

"That Francis boy makes me uncomfortable." He groaned, scratching his belly "He's lucky puberty was kind to him, or else he might have spent the rest of his life in a dress, if you know what I mean."

"Dad, that's awful." Lizzie scolded.

"Tell me it's not true." He countered "Well, that's fine – I'm sure you can kick his ass if he tries anything. Sure, you can go. You got the money?"

She groaned.

"If I don't buy anything in the next 2 months." She admitted.

"Hm."

Sadik thought a moment, continuing to scratch his belly.

"Tell you what." he said to her "You do my chores for the next two months and I'll top up your purse before you go."

"Really?"

"Sure – you're pretty independent, so I don't get to spoil you often. I'll double whatever you save."

"That's awesome!" Lizzie declared, throwing her arms around her father, who chuckled happily "But you're going to regret it!"

"Just like your mother." He muttered happily, letting her go "You're going to regret it when you have to do all the laundry and cooking."

"No chore scares me!" she declared, showing off her guns, causing her father to laugh again.

"So, what did the old man say?" he asked Gilbert, knowing his way pretty well by now.

"Haven't told him yet." He admitted.

"Don't put it off." Sadik suggested seriously.

"No sir."

"No, sir." Ludwig echoed, still sat happily on his brother back.

Gilbert left soon after, taking Luddy over the field at the back of their houses.

"You think they might build on these fields too?" he asked, taking a good look around the green grass.

"No way." Gilbert assured "It floods in the winter and the ground is uneven – no one would buy a house here."

Ludwig yelped unhappily as Gilbert hopped over the stones in the river, gripping his brothers shoulders tight.

"If you keep doing that, I'm going to be sick." He warned.

Gilbert just laughed.

"We're nearly home." He pointed out "I'll put you down when we get in the gate."

"Aren't your arms tired? You carried me all the way."

"No way! I'm awesome enough that I'm not tired at all – I've carried you every day since you were born, so there's no way you're ever going to be too heavy."

Ludwig seemed unconvinced.

"I'm going to ask Grandpa about that." He announced.

The smell of lamb greeted them as they stepped into the back door, Gilbert finally releasing his brother.

"Take off your shoes." Grandpa ordered immediately, pointing out his freshly cleaned kitchen floor.

Gilbert told his Grandpa the news as he undid his laces, keeping an eye on his reaction – it was hard to read, so he wasn't sure if he was winning him over. He didn't answer right away, only coming to a decision when he was serving up dinner.

"You can go." He decided "On one condition – you must stay out of trouble for the next two months."

"Really?" Gilbert said, half way between delighted and devastated.

"I've given up on you getting good grades in anything that doesn't interest you." Grandpa elaborated "But if you can stay out of trouble, I'll let you go. I'll even put some money to it."

"Really?! I can totally do that! I'll be the least troublesome person in the world!"

"We'll see."

* * *

Elizavetta ran through the darkening hallways – where the bloody hell had she left it? She already tried the maths room, the library and the English room – if she didn't find her uniform soon, she was going to be seriously late for work! She still had the music room, the science lab and the sports field to check – God, please be in the music room! As she entered the music department, she heard the sound of piano drifting through the air. Who was still practising this time in the afternoon? Who would hang around school of their own free will?

She threw open the door of the room she had been in earlier that day, stopping short in shock when she realised it was inhabited. A boy sat at the piano, plugging away at it with swift and elegant movements. Lizzie stopped a moment, but he didn't seem to have noticed her. She couldn't help but take a moment to listen – his rendition was perfect, not a single note out of place. It was almost hypnotising…

Snapping back to her senses, she remembered why she was there, looking all around the desks. Her heart leapt for joy when she spotted her sports bag at the desk. She didn't really want to interrupt the boy, so crept over as silently as she could. The minute she had it in her hands, she bolted out the room, running as fast as her legs would carry her to work.

"You're late!" Katyusha pointed out as she ran into the restaurant, five plates balanced on her arms.

"Hurry up and change, there are customers waiting!" Mr Wang ordered from the kitchen.

Six hours later, the two girls left the restaurant, Lizzie rubbing her sore back - Mr Wang was a slave driver at the best of times, and since she had been late he was especially merciless today.

"He really knows how to get the most for is money." Katyusha complimented "Maybe that's why he owns so many businesses."

"You think a man with all the money could afford to be a little nicer." Lizzie moaned, stretching her back as they waited under the awning.

Katyusha just smiled, keeping to herself that the only reason she had a job here at all was because her brother was friends with the owners brother. As the door to the restaurant opened, the air was filled with delicious smells and the sound of diners conversing and having fun. As the door shut again, both disappeared.

"Are you okay to get the bus?" Katyusha asked "There are creepy people around this time of night."

"It's fine." Lizzie assured "I'm not, oh wait, let me check my change."

She rooted around in her bag, looking for her wallet. The longer it continued to be allusive in the recesses of her bag, the more frantically she searched for it. With a heart wrenching suddenness, she realised it wasn't there. Oh good god… it definitely wasn't in her locker back in the restaurant… was it still at school? Ugh, that's even worse! Was it still in the music room? Had that boy taken it? Had she lost it while running to work? A million horrid thoughts crossed her mind – she was going to have to cancel her cards. She still had a twenty in there. How was she going to get home?

Katyushas brother and sister turned up, wrapped up warmly despite the temperate night – he always came to pick her up when she worked late, and if there was no-one to watch their younger sister, he would bring her along.

"What are you going to do?" she asked before she left "Are you going to call your dad?"

"If he's home he'll be asleep." She knew "I'll have to call Grandpa and just apologise a lot."

Despite her insistence, the siblings waited with her until Grandpa showed up, pulling up to the pavement in the dark. She apologised for causing him trouble as she climbed in, but he shook his head.

"I'd be more troubled if you walked." He insisted.

* * *

The next morning, Lizzie grumbled to the others over her missing wallet – the boys promised to keep their eyes out, but she didn't hold up much hope. She would have to call the bank at lunch to cancel her cards – hopefully she called them before some fraudster took her savings.

"That's, like, totally harsh." Feliks concurred, leaning over his chair to talk to her "The least Francis could do is lend you a little money until you get your new cards. What a cheapskate."

"I wouldn't want to be indebted to him." Lizzie admitted, remembering what a hard time she had had when she borrowed a fiver off him in the past.

"Hm, I guess I see your point." He admitted "He's a real skirt chaser, that one. If I was a girl I might mace him at least once."

"I thought you liked good looking men." Lizzie said.

"I do." He confirmed with a smile "It's his personality that bugs me. I like the shy, quiet type." He put his head on his palm and stared openly at his friend Toris, who busied himself with his late homework and pretended not to notice, causing Feliks to smirk.

"Speaking of personality." Lizzie mentioned "Why are you wearing a girls uniform today?"

"Because the girls uniform is way better than the boys." He said plainly.

"Makes sense."

"Doesn't it suit me?"

"Actually, it suits you pretty well."

"Lizzie!"

They looked over to the voice that called them – Eduard stood at the door, talking to a couple of boys she didn't remember having seen before. One looked remarkably like Feliks, only moodier, while the other was tall and pale, with thick dark hair and a mole under his mouth. Damn… he was _pretty_! Lizzie scolded herself as her thoughts went astray, especially as he turned his violet eyes towards her. With a nod, he floated into the room, stopping before her desk.

"Elizavetta Héderváry?" he enquired, the tenor of his voice suggesting he was more at home in private schools than public ones.

"Yes." She confirmed.

He pulled a confused face, and it made her heart flutter a little. He was _cute_! He held out his hand, and for the first time he realised he was holding something.

"I believe this is yours." He pointed out "Although from the design I could swear it belonged to a man."

"My wallet!" she exclaimed in glee, jumping up from her seat "Where did you find it?"

"You left it in the music room when you snuck in yesterday." He revealed "It must have dropped out of your bag."

"Thank you so much!" she said as she took it back from him "I really owe you…?"

He stared at her a moment before realising she was waiting for his name.

"Roderich." He introduced, blushing slightly "Roderich Edelstein. A pleasure to meet you."

Lizzie went to shake his hand, but instead of grasping it firmly like she was used to, he took it gently, bending at the waist and kissing the back of her palm. To say she was shocked would have been an understatement. Who… who did things like that?! This wasn't the middle ages!

"Are you, like, from the continent?" Feliks asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, what of it?" the boy who looked surprisingly like him challenged.

"Nothing, nothing." Feliks assured.

Roderich released her hand, leaving her speechless.

"I've taken up enough of your time." He said apologetically "Please be more careful with your belongings in the future, Ms Héderváry."

"Please, call her Lizzie!" Feliks insisted on her behalf "And you can call me whatever you want."

"Feliks!" Toris scolded, which seemed to make the blond happy.

Roderich didn't look quite so happy, giving him the same look everyone gave him the first time they saw him wearing girls clothes. With an uncomfortable sigh, he looked back at Lizzie, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Goodbye, Ms… Elizavetta." He corrected, turning on his heels and walking back out the classroom.

* * *

No one knew who this boy was – it seemed he and his friend hadn't been at the school very long. Between his air of aristocracy and the fact that he (a boy) had sought out Elizavetta Héderváry (the she-devil of Hetalia Secondary school), word of him spread very quickly. Having heard about the incident themselves, her friends wasted no time in teasing her.

"He didn't even give you a love letter?" Antonio quipped "That's cold."

"He clearly has no idea what he's doing." Francis agreed "Although if it's our Lizzie, he'd have better chance challenging her to a duel!"

"Shut up, you morons." Lizzie spat, giving Francis' leg a kick as best she could while sat on the grassy bank with her lunch in her lap.

"I'd have put my phone number in the wallet." Heracles agreed, sat a little further down on the bank than the older lot.

"You aren't that subtle." Kiku pointed out.

"I could be."

"I doubt it."

"Shut up the lot a ya!" Gilbert ordered, lay on his back with his hands behind his head, staring at the clouds "So a pretty-boy did Lizzie a favour, it's not a big deal."

"Thank you, Gilbert!" Lizzie cried, already sick of the teasing.

"Did you check your wallet though?" Antonio finished, swiftly silence by Gilberts trainer smacking him with force in the face.

* * *

As school ended, Gilbert ran home immediately – for the sake of the semi-final, he was keeping his head as low as possible, which for him meant going right home and keeping his mouth shut. Antonio went to work as always. Francis_ was_ going to stay with Lizzie to do their science homework (as neither of them was particularly good at it), but spying Arthur slinking off with Ivan, he made his apologies and ran after them. The sun was setting by the time she finished, throwing the heavy textbook onto the cart with a satisfying _thud_. The campus was practically empty, save for the cleaners and a few straggling students. As she got to the front gate, she was surprised to hear someone calling her name. Looking around, she saw Roderich jog up to her. She was slightly amused that even this light exercise seemed to take his breath away.

"Ms He… um, Elizavetta." He corrected again, catching his breath as he caught her "Are you going home?"

"I am." She confessed "And yourself?"

Roderich looked all around, like he was expecting someone.

"I don't understand." He admitted "I was given to understand that all your friends were male."

"That's right." She confirmed, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Well, where are they?" he asked.

"Home." She pointed out "Antonio had work, Francis had to catch his brother and Heracles volunteers at the animal shelter after school."

"That'll never do." He insisted, clearly put out "They can't leave a young lady to walk home alone at night. That's simply unheard off." He groaned, pushing his glasses up his nose "Very well, I shall have to walk you home."

Lizzie laughed, clearly catching Roderich by surprise. She stopped when she realised he was serious.

"Oh… that's not necessary." She assured "It's not that dark, and I don't live far."

"It is entirely necessary." He insisted "My mother would disown me if I even considered leaving you to walk alone."

Lizzie was immediately uncomfortable – he was seriously serious, wasn't he? Walk her home? How old fashioned was this boy? Although pale and easily winded, he seemed determined, and truth be told, she wouldn't mind an excuse to look at that pretty face for a while longer.

"Which way to you live?" she offered "Maybe we can walk part of the way together."

Luckily for her, he lived in the same direction she did, and the two of them strolled along the lane together, chatting away in the usual getting-to-know-you fashion as the sun set and street lights came on overhead.

"So after the divorce my mother came here." Roderich finished "Her good friend from college had just become divorced herself, so they bought a house together. It's not nearly as big as my fathers house, but I don't have to share a room with Vash, so I can't really complain."

"That sounds rough." Lizzie empathised "It must be tough getting used to this place after having lived on the continent your whole life."

Roderich stopped short, eyes on the riverside path ahead of them. Noticing his hard stare, she looked down the path herself – Mathias and his friends loitered on the riverbank, and the small orange glow of cigarettes could be seen floating in the gloom. She startled a little as Roderich took her arm.

"Let's go the other way." He suggested, eyes still on the gang of boys.

"Oh honey, that's not necessary!" she laughed, taking his hand and pulling him down the path.

Despite being a boy, he was pretty light, and didn't seem to have the strength in him bones to stop himself being pulled. The group looked at them as they came close, but didn't say anything.

"Evening, Mathias." Elizavetta greeted "How's your nose?"

He flipped her the bird. She just laughed, especially as Tino proceeded to tell him off.

"What did your mother say?" he scolded "You want to go to military school?"

"They'll shave off all that chicken hair!" Lizzie pointed out with glee.

"You should go." Lukas said plainly, snuggling up with his little brother in his lap.

"That's mean!" Mathias shrieked.

The group got rowdy – well, Mathias got rowdy, the others were pretty quiet (except Tino when he got mad, but that's a story for another time), and Lizzie laughed openly as she pulled Roderich past them. She finally stopped pulling when they got to the end of the dirt path and back onto the tarmac.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she pointed out "And we shaved ten minutes off our journey!"

Roderich was, if possible, even paler than before, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"You… those ruffians… right past them…"

"Those guys?" Lizzie laughed "Mathias has a big mouth, but they're not bad guys. Certainly not 'ruffians.' Stick with me, sweetie, I'll protect you!"

She laughed again, continuing on her path. Roderich soon caught up with her, walking her the rest of the way to her house.

* * *

This is my first time tackling this couple. I'm sure it won't be as popular as my FRUK stories, but thus far I'm enjoying writing it! If you enjoyed reading it, don't be too shy to leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3 Getting to Know You

Here we have a short chapter, where not much happens, but hopefully builds up the town of Hetalia and its inhabitants.

* * *

**Getting to Know You.**

Francis had finally caught Arthur – the tall 18-year old man was much heavier than the scrawny 14 year-old boy, despite his willowy frame, so kept him pinned easily as he wiped the dirt off his face with a wet towelette in one hand, keeping his arms pinned above his head with the other, ignoring the swears and insults that flew in his direction. Ludwig found the whole thing fascinating, watching the two of them closely – because of Arthurs tendency to turn the air blue at every opportunity, Gilbert didn't like his brother hanging around him. Sure enough, he covered his little brothers ears and turned his head away, back to the river, fighting his attempts to look back.

"Too much agro." Heracles muttered, lying back and putting his head on his sisters lap, promptly falling asleep.

Antonio just laughed at the whole affair.

"I love Sunday." He said.

The group sat on the riverbank in the spring sunshine, taking in the warm, fresh air after what seemed like a long, long winter. There wasn't a whole lot for teenagers to do in the town of Hetalia, so on sunny days like this, the riverbank was a popular spot to hang about. Right now it wasn't warm enough to go swimming, but a game of football had broken out on the other side of the river, with Mathias and his friends on one team and Feliks and his friends on the other. Almost everyone could be seen somewhere along the riverbank, having picnics, playing sports, gossiping and generally loitering.

Kiku pulled a grossed out face as Heracles put his feet up on his lap, lifting his PSP over his legs to keep playing. Ivan loitered above them, smiling uncomfortably as he wasn't sure if he should intervene to save Arthur or not. However, it didn't take much coaxing for him to sit on the grass with them as Arthur continued to turn the air blue.

"Get off, you wanker!" he ordered, kicking his legs furiously, only just avoiding kicking his brother in the nuts.

"If you held still this would be over a whole lot sooner, idiot!" Francis pointed out.

"Why are you doing it at all?!"

"Because you're filthy! Either let me wash your face properly or I'll throw you in the river!"

"That water comes from the mountains, you fag, it's freezing!"

"What's you call me, brat?"

Gilbert covered his brothers ears with practically his whole arms as Arthur screamed the epithet loud enough that even the boys playing five-a-side stopped and looked – seeing who it was, however, they simply continued.

"Maybe you should stop…" Ivan suggested.

"How are you this dirty when Ivan is perfectly clean?" Francis chastised Arthur, who was still doing his best to squirm away.

"Good afternoon, Ms Elizavetta." A regal-sounding voice called from behind.

The group looked around – Roderich and Vash stood at the top of the embankment, both wearing shirts and slacks despite the fact it was Sunday.

"Afternoon, Roderich." Lizzie greeted "You look dapper. Been to church or something?"

"Oh, yes, actually." He blushed slightly "We always go out for lunch at a restaurant afterwards."

"Anywhere nice?" Antonio pried, of course wanting to know if they had dropped by his families place.

"Just the usual. We ate fondue, but it was frightfully bland."

"Sounds dull." Antonio agreed "You should check out Carriedo's next week. Best Spanish food outside of Spain, you know."

"I shall take that on advisement." He promised, sounding somewhat surprised by his lack of formality.

"If you're not busy, why don't you join us?" Lizzie offered.

Roderich looked displeased a moment, which pissed Gilbert off – what, were they too common for him to hang out with? Stuffy bastard. However, Roderich smiled.

"Why don't I run home and fetch a blanket for us to sit on?" he offered "The grass looks dewy, it might stain our clothing."

"Whatever floats you boat." Gilbert grumbled.

Sure enough, they returned less than ten minutes later with a large picnic blanket and a few bags of Tupperware. They all shifted as they laid the blanket down, unnecessarily smoothing it out.

"What's with the lunchboxes?" Antonio asked.

"Lunchbox?" Roderich seemed confused, looking at the plastic boxes they had bought "This is Tupperware…"

"It's leftovers." His friend said bluntly "We told my mother what we were doing and emptied the fridge on us. Help yourselves."

Despite the fact that they were the ones who offered, Roderich and Vash were pretty shocked at the enthusiasm with which the group tore apart their leftovers as they bundled onto the blanket. Roderich actively pulled Lizzie back from the boys, which bemused her more than anything, since she was pretty hungry herself. With a smile, she gripped Roderichs hand tight enough that he let her go, kicking the boys aside to get the food. Roderich himself actually laughed, although it was more of a snort, as the pile disbanded and they went back to their previous positions. Placing himself delicately on the blanket beside Elizavetta, Roderich gave Heracles a somewhat horrified look as he once again placed his head on his sisters lap and his feet in Kikus.

"Oh, this is my little brother." Lizzie explained when she saw his expression "His name is Heracles. He's two years younger than us."

"I see." Roderich said, pushing his glasses up his nose "That's understandable. What bothers me…"

He pointed to Arthur and Francis – said Francis was no longer trying to clean his face, and still held his hands firmly in his lap as he tried to feed him, Arthur still pulling away and Ivan still not sure if he should help.

"Is it okay for him to be molesting that boy in such a manner?" Roderich asked quietly.

Lizzie laughed. She could see his point – to an outsider their relationship must be pretty strange.

"Arthur is Francis' little brother." She told him "He's a trouble maker and Francis has a brother complex."

"It is not a complex!" Francis insisted, even as he pulled Arthur into his lap.

"The boy with the scarf is Arthurs friend, Ivan." Lizzie continued "I work with his older sister at the restaurant. The boy my idiot brother has his feet on is Kiku, the one with the dopey grin is Antonio and these two are Gilbert and Ludwig."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ludwig greeted politely, no longer interested in Arthur and Francis' struggle.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, young , man. My name is Roderich, and my colleague here is Vash."

Gilbert started cackling to himself, drawing his friends curious glances.

"Hey, has anyone ever called you 'Rash'?" he asked, still laughing.

Vash scowled, going slightly red.

"Yes." He mumbled.

"That's mean." Ludwig empathised as his brother fell about laughing.

Vash scowled further. Gilbert found himself struck from three sides.

"Semi-final!" his friends chorused, and he fell to the ground in defeat , putting his hands behind his head.

"You sure know some… characters." Roderich noted, and the group had the inkling they were being insulted somehow.

"Oh, that's nothing." Lizzie said, waving her hand "Hetalia's not that big, but we're got some realy characters here! Like…" she looked around, spying the boys playing five-a-side "That lot over there! You met Mathias and his group the other day. The tall one in the glasses is Berwald, Mathais' cousin – he has a speech impediment, so he doesn't talk much. You'd think being so tall that he'd be into basketball, but he's actually in the sewing club."

"Is that so?" Roderich noted politely.

"The goth kid is Tino, Berwalds…?"

"Are they official?" Antonio wondered aloud as she trail off.

"I'm not sure." Lizzie admitted "Tino might still be in denial. The one with the grey hair is Lukas, and the short one is his little brother Emil – their parents own a massive frozen food company. If it's frozen and you've eaten it, it probably came from them."

"Really?" Roderich seemed impressed.

"On the other team there's Feliks, who you met the other day."

"Ah yes." Roderich remembered, grimacing slightly "The gender confused young man."

"The one with the long brown hair is Toris, who believe it or not is the class representative. The one with the glasses is Eduard, who's president of the computer club, and the short one is Ravis, who's in the sewing club with Berwald. The boy with the spikey hair I've seen playing on the school football team, but I'm not sure what his name is."

"All your friends really are boys." Roderich noted.

"That's not true." Lizzie insisted "I know some girls! Like…" she looked along the riverbank again "Ah, those middle school girls over there! The dour looking one is Natalia, Ivans younger sister. The one is pink is Mei, Kikus sister." She leaned closer to Roderich, whispering conspiratorially "I'm not being racist or anything, but every Asian in town is related to the Wang family somehow."

"That is kind of racist." Kiku pointed out, not taking his eyes off his PSP.

"But am I wrong?" Lizzie countered.

Kiku glanced at them a moment, blushed slightly and looked back at his game.

"No." he muttered.

"Thank you!" Lizzie sung, looking back to the girls "I'm not sure who the blonde is, though. She's very cute."

"She's my sister." Vash said bluntly, taking a bite of his sandwich "Her name's Lilly."

"Oh, well then." She pointed at the girls again, elbowing Roderich playfully "The little blondes name is Lilly. She's Vash's sister."

Roderich chuckled. Even Vash smiled a little.

They hung about until it started getting cold, at which point they packed up the blankets and boxes and readied themselves for home. Lizzies phone went off as they reached the top of the embankment, 'dad' flashing up at her as it played 'Papa Don't Preach.'

"Hello." She greeted.

"Girl, tell your brother there's no point in him having a phone if he never turns it on!" he boomed at her.

"It is on." Heracles muttered beside her, their fathers voice carrying very well in the still spring air "I was ignoring you."

"Anyway!" Sadik went on "I spoke to my friend out at the farm today, guess what's for dinner?"

Lizzie was both delighted and horrified – whenever her father spoke to his friend at the farm, he came home with delicious fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. The last time he had gone, Lizzie returned home to find him and Grandpa roasting a whole pig in the driveway.

"Please do it in the back garden this time." She begged.

"I was gonna!" Sadik insisted like a man rumbled "Anyway, it's lamb! Bring the boys, we'll make an evening of it."

There was no way Lizzie couldn't invite everyone present – Sadiks booming voice could be heard clearly by everyone, and Lizzie suspected they would be able to hear him without the phone at all if he raised his voice a little more.

"Something wrong?" he asked when she didn't reply right away.

"There's more of us than usual." She admitted.

"Bring them anyway!" Sadik insisted.

"I don't think one lamb will go that far."

"Tell them to bring a dish then, pad it out! Antonio can run home and grab some garlic bread and that tomato stuff I like, and Gilbert and Luddy can make a crap-ton of potato salad." He grumbled openly "I suppose Francis can bring the rabbit food he's so fond of. That ought to do it."

Leaving no room for argument, Antonio ran back to the restaurant and Francis pulled Arthur home, Ivan following uncomfortably. Kiku also ran home to see if he could pull a rice salad together.

"This is very last minute." Roderich complained "Is it formal? I'm not sure if I have something suitable to wear."

"What you're wearing now is fine." Lizzie laughed "You remember where I live?"

"Yes, the red house."

With that, Roderich and Vash also left, discussing between themselves what they should bring.

* * *

"Just admit you like her." Vash ordered.

"She's a charming young woman." Roderich admitted "I admit, she's somewhat rough around the edges… she's…. interesting."

"Cop-out." Vash grumbled.

"I think it's sweet that Roddy's got a crush." Lilly piped in, struggling under the weight of the plates she was carrying.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take those?" her brother asked again.

"I'm okay." She swore "Besides, you're carrying the cakes."

The boys had gone home looking to throw some kind of dessert together, knowing that they had ice-cream, chocolate, fruit and such lying around the kitchen. Of course, their mothers had wanted to know what they were doing, since they hadn't even had dinner yet. Upon hearing they were invited to an impromptu garden party, both were delighted – Vashs mother because he was making friends, Roderichs because he was building connections. The women had dashed down the road to buy all the cakes and pastries at the bakery before it closed so the boys had something 'proper' to take with them.

Realising it would take more than the two of them to carry everything (including spare plates, which their mothers also insisted on), Vash immediately roped his sister in.

"I don't want her exposed to all that 'social climbing' crap your mother keeps going on about." He admitted "It'll rot her mind."

Roderich didn't argue. They hoped Lizzie father wouldn't mind an extra mouth to feed, especially as they had bought dessert. They could always apologise.

But apologies wouldn't be necessary. Even before they got to the house, Vash could tell which one it was – the wooden gates had been flung open, with music and the smell of roasting lamb wafting all around the street, with neighbours casually flitting in and out.

"So glad I didn't put on a tie." Vash joked.

As they entered the gate, they were greeted by something Roderich had never seen before – an honest-to-god barbeque. The kitchen table had been pulled into the verdant garden, along with what they could only guess were his neighbours kitchen tables, lined up along the fence in a way that didn't damage the border plants, piled high with all manner of salads, tapas and munchies. Some kitchen and lawn chairs were spread about, most of them taken up by the elderly, with everyone else standing or sitting on the low wall of even on the grass. At the back of the garden, the back gate also stood wide open, leading to a field behind the house, the sound of children laughing and playing drifting through.

In the centre of the garden stood a mighty brick pit, over which a very large lamb was being roasted.

"And you wanted to bring sandwiches." Vash laughed.

"I am very uncomfortable with this." Roderich admitted, wondering how he was going to get the smell of lamb and smoke out of his clothes.

"NI HAO!"

They leapt aside in shock at the loud proclamation, an Asian man with a pony tail sauntering in behind them, trailed by half a dozen youths, Ivan and his sisters.

"Yao!" a large, deeply tanned man greeted from beside the spit "What are you doing here, skinny!"

"I bought wine!" the Asian man declared, holding up the very generous bottles of Chinese wine he had bought with him "I would also have bought beer, but I thought the old man would have that covered."

"Less of the old." The long haired elder man beside the large man scolded.

All three men laughed as the kids placed whatever they were holding onto the tables in whatever inch of space was free before disappearing.

"You okay to leave your place unstaffed, Yao?" the large man asked as the Asian joined them.

"Sundays evenings are terrible for my trade!" he declared "We do a trade at lunchtime, then we go home. You couldn't have picked a better day for this!"

"Roderich, Vash!" Lizzie greeted, snapping their attention away from the men "You made it! Welcome! Oh! And welcome to you too, Lilly!"

"Thank you very much, Lizzie." Lilly greeted, arms starting to shake "We bought some extra plates. Is there a place I can put them?"

"Now that's forward thinking!" Lizzie complimented before yelling over her shoulder "Mei! Show Lilly where the kitchen is!"

Both Mei and Natalia rushed forward from the crowd, taking a pile of plates for themselves and leading her into the house.

"Don't stand on ceremony, boys!" Lizzie insisted, carrying two full pitchers of lemonade in each hand "Put those down and grab a drink! No alcohol, though, or Dad'll kill you!" she finished with a wink.

"Lizzie!" someone called from the crowd "Uncle needs a refill!"

"Coming!" she called back, disappearing into the crowd.

"Excuse me!" Francis sung from behind them before they could even think "Coming through, boys!"

They parted for him – in one hand he held a massive wooden bowl of tossed salad, under the other a toddler with curly blonde hair and a stuffed animal. Arthur followed behind, for once not swearing, struggling under the weight of the box of bottles he held and the identical toddler strapped to his back. They walked past them and into the crowd like this kind of gathering was the most natural thing in the world – their arrival was even greeted with a cheer as Arthurs bottles were handed around.

The noise and chatter grew louder – an aging man with curly brown hair sat himself with the other old men, strumming away on his guitar and singing merrily at the top of his lungs. The boys both leapt as they were slapped on the back.

"Evening, gentlemen!" Antonio greeted, laughing at their responses "No need to stand on ceremony – no one's gonna come take your order here! Grab a plate and take whatever looks good! Don't stand here, mingle, mingle!"

He pushed them further into the garden, handing them both plates.

"The big man is Lizzies father." He explained to them "The guy with long hair is Gilbert and Luddys grandpa. Old Yao Wang is… wait, he's here?" he spun around like he had just realised who was present "Where's the dim sum?! I gotta grab some before it goes!"

Antonio sped off, grabbing and plate and piling it high with a nauseating mixture of salad, nibbles and Chinese food. Vash had been to at least one barbeque in the past, so took the lead as they helped themselves to more modest plates of food.

Looking all around, all they saw were middle-aged to elderly people lounging around the garden – where was everyone their age? The spotted Lilly and the other two girls running through the backs gate and decided to follow them – sure enough, the field out the back was littered with youths, children running about happily. They spotted Lizzie and her friends under a tree by the creek and went to join them. Roderich startled when he noticed Arthur and Ivan had actually climbed the tree and were sat in its branches with their plates in their laps. That… that couldn't be sanitary! It was so uncouth!

"Get the stick out of your arse." Vash suggested quietly as they approached "If you want this girl to like you, complaining about how 'common' she and her friends are isn't the way to do it."

"Even I know that!" Roderich insisted.

Despite insisting that he knew that, Roderich was very easy to read, and couldn't hide his reaction every time something 'uncouth' happened – Gilbert sticking breadsticks up his nose and chasing his brother around the field being a particular highlight, not to mention when Feliks turned up in a mini-skirt. They were all called back into the garden when the lamb was finished roasting, and the boys were pretty surprised when they saw the previously piled high table had all but been picked clean by the crowd, including their desserts, despite the fact that they hadn't had their lamb yet.

People started filing out around 8 o'clock – it was Sunday, afterall, pretty much everyone had work or school tomorrow. They took home with them whatever they had bought, including their plates, chairs and tables, leaving the garden in an almost perfect condition and seemingly vastly larger. Lizzie had the good manners to say goodbye to them at the front gate, thanking them for coming at such short notice.

"Your friends aren't leaving yet?" Roderich noted, struggling under what was at best a modest pile of plates.

"Gilbert lives on the other side of the field." She revealed "Francis and Arthur already left to put the twins to bed. Antonio's off as soon as he's helped me with the dishes."

"How thoughtless of me!" Roderich declared with a disappointed 'tsk' "I should have offered to assist you."

"It was Antonios turn." Lizzie insisted, shaking her head "You can help me next time, okay?"

"Next time?"

Roderich paled slightly. This was a regular occurrence? Lizzie just laughed at his reaction, wishing them goodnight. With no cakes to bring home, they split the plates between them, which Lilly and Vash were fine with, but Roderich seemed to have an extreme lack of upper body strength. Vash stuck closer to his sister as the sun set.

"I think I'm really going to like it here." Lilly confessed "I already have friends, and everyone seems really nice."

"They aren't awful." Vash agreed "They're certainly more inviting than where we used to live."

"We couldn't walk around at night like this in the city." Lilly elaborated.

"It's going to take some adjusting." Roderich grumbled "Nothing here is particularly cultured. I mean… it was a spit-roast."

"You could always go live with your dad." Vash reminded him, but he just shook his head.

He could adjust to this place. He was sure he could inject a little culture into the commoners – Lizzie had stopped to listen for a moment when she heard him playing the piano, afterall. He could adapt, but… he couldn't stand to break his mothers heart by going back to live with his father, no matter how much easier his life would be.

"If you really like Lizzie, why don't you invite her over for dinner?" Lilly pointed out.

"That is the done thing." Roderich agreed, remembering his etiquette.

If he remembered correctly, etiquette demanded he wait no more than a week to return the invitation, and she should wait no more than a week after to accept, and said invitation should occur withint he month. He stumbled over a stone in the path, nearly dropping the plates and Vash grabbed the back of his coat.

"Head out of the clouds, pretty-boy!"

* * *

A random barbecue sounds pretty fun, I think. Here in England, pretty much all barbecues happen at random, since we can't guarantee what the weather will be like from one day to the next, so it's usually a desperate dash down the shops to get the meat before all the other barbecue hopefuls! I wanted to make our characters a part of a close community, and I feel this impromptu gathering really helps put the idea across.


	4. Chapter 4 Blooming

It's been a while - I've been stuck in a block, so this chapter probably won't be anything good, but I hope you find something to like. On exciting news, this is my first chapter written on my new computer! Thanks to TwoFlowersAndABunchOfTrees for letting me know at least someone wanted to keep this story going.

* * *

**Blooming.**

Gilbert sneezed. It was grass pollen time again, and the field behind his house was being extra generous this year - his poor eyes had been streaming all week, his nose simultaniously stuffy and running like a leaky tap.

"Bless you."

"Thank you, Luddy."

Gilbert wiped his nose and sniffed before shoving his tissue in his pocket and turning back to the task at hand - grandpa wanted the garden wall painted on both sides, which for Gilbert meant the opportunity to earn more money for his World Cup Final pot. His shoulders were aching something fierce, and head to toe were splodges of manilla paint, but he stayed positive when he thought of the good times ahead. Luddy didn't like being left on his own, so when grandpa went out to do the weekly shop the little boy promptly sat at the gate and watched his brother work. Feeling a little sorry for him (and a little weirded out), Gilbert gave him a little brush to paint the edge close to the ground.

Ludwig sneezed.

"Ew." he moaned.

Gilbert couldn't help but snicker as he handed him a clean tissue.

"Breathe through your mouth, you won't sneeze as much."

"Kay."

The afternoon was clear and warm, and although he would rather be playing football with his friends, this wasn't a bad way to spend the day - a couple more months and he'd have to slather umpteen layers of sun-cream on before his lilly-ass could even think of going outside in the afternoon. Luddy was pretty fair was well, but Gilbert was glad he didn't have albinism like his big brother. Luddy sneezed again.

"It's not working."

"I've got nasal spray inside." Gilbert offered.

"Ew, I don't want to touch something that's been up your nose."

"Whaaaaat?!" Gilbert cried "I can't believe I'm hearing such slander from my own brother!"

"It's gross. I'm not touching it."

"Hmmmm?"

Hearing his brothers teasing tone, Ludwig looked up. His little face fell when he saw that look on his brother.

"No!"

"I think so."

"No no no!"

Ludwig got up and sprinted into the field. Gilbert whistled as he wiped the paint off his brush and put it into the water, allowing the child a moments head start before going after him. Luddy squealed as Gilbert chased him around the field, jumping too and fro to escape his grabbing hands, but he wasn't all that fast, and Gilbert soon nabbed him. Luddy struggled desperately, but couldn't escape, yelling and squealing as Gilbert planted a series of wet raspberries on his neck.

"Gross GROSS STOP!" he screamed, although he was laughing just as hard "GERMS! Spit! It's gross!"

"Next time you'll just have to accept my nose germs!" Gilbert declared.

"Never!"

Gilbert continued his assault.

"Grandpa help!" Ludwig yelled suddenly.

Gilbert hadn't even noticed him come back, but sure enough he stood at the gate to the garden. Instead of helping Ludwig, he stood with his camera in his hands.

"No-one's coming to save you!" Gilbert declared, giving him a squeeze before planting an extra wet one on him, causing him to squeal like a girl.

* * *

"It's not that bad. In fact, it's hardly noticeable." Lizzy assured.

"It's totally gross." Feliks knew "How can I face the world like this?"

People no longer batted an eyelid at seeing Feliks in the girls bathroom - afterall, he spent so much time in a girls uniform, it seemed a natural progression. Today was a little different, however, as the boy surveyed his black eye in the bathroom mirror.

"Purple and green are not my colours." he moaned "As if it weren't bad enough."

"Alright, I got it!" Monica declared as she burst into the bathroom, cosmetics bag in her hands "Although your skin is a little paler than mine, so I had to get the powder from my cousin."

"Why does Francis have make-up?" Lizzie shuddered a little, although she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, please!" Feliks declared "A vain boy like him would die of shame if he were ever caught with a spot. Hit me with your best, Monica, I will totally do your hair for next weekend!"

"You would anyway." Monica knew.

Being on the short side, Monica hopped onto the basin, and Feliks leaned over obediently, wincing a little as she applied her make-up to his impressive shiner.

"Are we patching or going all out?" she asked.

"As nice as it would feel to be pretty today, I think one beating is enough." Feliks reasoned "Just a cover-up, please."

So that's why he was wearing trousers. It was actually a little disconcerting seeing him dressed 'appropriately' - he didn't look like himself without at least something glittery in his hair. The bathroom door opened, but a hard stare from Lizzie was all it took for them to try a different one. Monica tutted as the bell rang.

"We're going to be late." she whined.

"Better late than ugly." Feliks reasoned.

There was a knock on the outside of the door.

"Come on, you guys!" Toris begged "If I get another tardy because of you, my mother is going to hang me from the clock tower in the central square!"

"So go without us!" Feliks snapped at him.

"Feliks-"

"I don't want him to see this." he said quietly so only the girl could hear him "He'll just worry..."

Lizzies stomach turned. Seeing her happy Feliks so sad was honestly the most upsetting thing that had happened in a while.

"Guys-" Toris whined.

"Go without us!" Lizzie barked, and immediately she heard him dash down the hall.

Feliks smiled thankfully as her, but Monica turned his face back to her.

"Hold still, I'm nearly done." she ordered "Who did this anyway? You should report them to the head master."

"My parents." Feliks muttered, shocking Monica to the point that she nearly dropped the make-up brush "Don't exactly approve of my... 'lifestyle.'"

"Feliks... I'm sorry."

He smiled again, shaking his head a little.

"My grandma was cool though. She totally left me a whole bunch of money when she died, and I'll inherit when I turn 18. I won't have to live in that house any more and I can wear what I want all the time."

"Get a move on, you lot!" Francis called from outside, banging on the door "And I want my stuff back, Monica!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, we're nearly done!" she yelled back, clacking the powder compact closed as she turned to Feliks "That's the best I can do with what I have. Don't touch your face and try not to sweat, okay?"

"I love you and will totally return the favour." he answered, standing back so she could jump down.

Monica left immediately and went to yell at Francis out in the hall. Lizzie stayed behind, watching Feliks check his reflection again. She felt useless - she wasn't the type of girl who carried make-up, so she had no idea what to do with it, and all she could do was stand at the door like a bouncer while Feliks gently pawed at the powder.

"You can't even see it." she assured "It's totally hidden."

"Yeah, that girl's a genius." Feliks agreed before sighing "Still hurts, though."

"Is there... anything I can do?" Lizzie asked, not used to being the observer.

Feliks smiled at her - while still a little sad, it seemed more genuine than before.

"Tell me I'm pretty."

Lizzie laughed.

"You're so pretty, it hurts my pride as a woman."

"Hell yeah it does."

They both laughed. Feliks took Lizzies hand as they headed out the door to their lesson.

* * *

Lizzie couldn't help it - she wanted to hear him play. She didn't have to work today, so she headed tentatively to the music room, not even knowing if he was going to be practising or not. As the sound of the piano drifted through the halls, she counted herself lucky, loitering just outside the door so as not to disturb him. She had never considered herself a fan of classical music, but what she had heard the other day had been so beautiful, she wanted to hear it again.

Leant against the wall, she closed her eyes and let the music wash over her, a gentle breeze blowing over the hall from the open window. She had heard this tune before, but couldn't place where - it wasn't the one he had been playing the other day. Even to her untrained ears, she could tell every note was perfect in pitch, speed and placement. It was a work of art.

"Lizzie?"

She jumped, skin crawling like she had been caught stealing from her fathers wallet as her name was called. Looking around, she saw Roderich stood at the door, and was immediately embarrassed, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

"G-good afternoon, Roddy!" she greeted "How are you, sweetie?"

"All the better for seeing you." he answered "Did you leave your games clothes here again?"

"Oh, no! Or... yes... except no..."

Lizzie looked at the ground, too ashamed to look at his pretty eyes as she felt her whole head grow hot. What on earth was wrong with her?! Why did she say that?! Had she looked up, she would have seen Roderichs confused look replaced with a sudden understanding, and a rose blush spread in from his ears to his nose.

"Are you... not going home with your friends today?" he dared venture, taking the opportunity to run his hands through his hair and straighten his tie before she looked back up at him.

"Not today - Antonio's cousin is sick, so he's pulling extra time at the restaurant; Francis' mother is leaving his step-father so wants his help to pack; and Luddy's come down with something too, so the school called Gilbert to take him home. I don't have work today either, so..."

"Is no-one expecting you home?" Roderich asked.

"No, Heracles always eats at Kiku's on Tuesdays and my father is away until the end of the week. There's no rush for me to go home."

"Then if it's not an imposition, perhaps I could treat you?" Roderich offered "Afterall, you invited me to your garden party the other day, so it's only fair."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, dear!" she flustered in response.

"I insist!" he disagreed "It's only right, and furthermore it would be my pleasure!"

Lizzie felt her cheeks grow hot again. Damn, he was pretty, and he had such a hopeful smile.

"Well... if you insist."

Roderichs hopeful smile became a grin, and Lizzies heart skipped a beat.

"What kind of food do you like?" he asked "I've heard that Wang's Chinese is-"

"I work there." she interrupted "It is very good, but he insists on feeding his staff, so I eat it a lot."

"Oh." he scratched the back of his head, thinking a moment.

"Well, there's-"

"Mr Wang owns it." she knew.

"Or-"

"He owns that too."

"How about-"

"And that one."

"... Really?"

"Yup." she laughed "Any place you can eat or drink in the town of Hetalia, Mr Wang owns it. The only exceptions are Carriedos - of which he's actually a silent partner - and that pub on King James' Street, but it's a total dive so he doesn't want it."

"That's... impressive in its way." Roderich admitted "But that makes eating out a little difficult."

"Then why don't we go to your place?" she offered "We can stop by the supermarket on the way and pick up some stuff. I mean... if that's not too much of an imposition."

"Not at all! In fact, I'm a good cook if I do say so myself. It would be my honour to cook for you."

They both fell into silence, hot around the ears. Lizzie fiddled with her nails and Roderich scratched the back of his head.

"But..." she said finally "Please don't let me interrupt your practice."

"It would be rude of me to make you wait."

"Not at all, I... I enjoy listening to it..."

Roderich smiled again, rosy cheeks deepening. He held out his hand to her.

"Why don't you sit beside me?" he offered "Rather than standing here?"

Lizzies heart skipped again. After a moment, she took his hand.

* * *

Roderichs house was really something - it was stuffed with artwork on every inch of wall and expensive looking vases and figures on every surface. The entire place oozed grandness and luxury, so much so that Lizzie felt like she was stealing something just by being there.

"I'm sorry it's so cluttered." Roderich said as he laid his bags down on the counter "We had a bigger house before the divorce."

"Oh, this is nothing!" she assured "My father is such a hoarder, he brings all sorts of rubbish home when he goes on his travels - we had to build and extra room for all his trinkets!"

Despite his protestations, Lizzie helped Roderich cook, pretending not to see the 'reduced to clear' and 'half price' labels so as not to hurt his feelings. Vash came into the kitchen at one point, pulled a face and promptly left. Immediately after, three other people appeared at the kitchen door, peeping around the door frame. Lizzie chuckled to herself, following Roderichs lead of pretending not to see them. She recognised Lilly, of course, and the somewhat-butch blonde woman was clearly her and Vashs mother, meaning the beautiful brunette must be Roderichs. All three darted from sight when he looked up.

Knowing full well they were still there, he sighed through his nose and went back to cutting the green beans After a moment, Lilly was pushed into the kitchen by the older woman, Roderich looking up before she could run off.

"Good evening, Roderich!" she greeted a little too enthusiastically "Hello, Elizavetta! Thank you so much for having me other the other day."

"Hello Lilly." Lizzie greeted "Thank you for those lovely desserts you brought - everyone loved them."

"I'm sorry we didn't bring more, but I didn't know there was going to be so many people."

"That's alright, sweetie, we never know how many people are going to turn up really - that's why everyone brings a dish, so no-one goes hungry."

"I wish we could have parties like that." Lilly admitted "But since we're new in town I don't have that many friends yet."

"Well, next time we have a party you're more than welcome to come along."

They all jumped a little as they heard Vash loudly groan in exasperation in the hallway. He marched back into the kitchen, pulling the two older woman behind him.

"For goodness sake." he grumbled "Lizzie, this is my mother, Bernadette, and Roderichs mother, Melody. Mother, Auntie, his is Elizavetta Héderváry. Roderich's never bought a girl home before so they're curious. Have fun with that."

He marched out again.

"There's such a thing as being too blunt!" his mother yelled after him.

"I get it from you!" he yelled back.

"Don't answer back!"

"Don't eavesdrop on other peoples dates!"

"It's not eavesdropping if it's my house!"

"So, you're Elizavetta?" Roderichs mother interrupted, crossing her arms daintily and looking the young woman up and down "I'm sorry if my son has been troubling you."

"Oh, not at all!" she assured.

"Liz... um, Ms Héderváry's father and brother won't be home until late, and I needed to repay her for inviting us over previously, so I invited her for dinner."

Bernadette snickered, putting a broad arm on her petite daughters shoulder. Melody smiled. If Roderich was 'pretty', his mother was downright beautiful, long black hair just curly and pale skin like the petals of a white rose. She dressed finely, adorned in antique jewellery with just a little make-up to bring out her finest features. Bernadette, in comparison, looked like an army vet, short and sturdy - the kind of woman Lizzie imagined she'd become around middle age.

"It's a pleasure to have you in our home, Ms Héderváry." Melody greeted with an accent so crisp she could teach the queen of England to annunciate "Roderich, if you're making dinner, why don't you make it for everyone?"

"It would be impolite to ask Ms Héderváry to do such a thing." he reasoned with her "I can't help if she wants to assist with her own dinner, but asking her to prepare my familys meal is too much."

"It's impolite of you to let Ms Héderváry help you when she's a guest in this house."

"Please... call me Lizzie."

"Come on, girl, let's go!" Bernadette insisted, signalling for Lizzie to follow "Before these two get into an 'impolite off.' I'll show you where Roddy keeps his porn!"

"I do not have porn!"

Bernadette cackled as she pulled Lizzie away, Melody scolded her son for raising his voice.

* * *

The last time Lizzie had seen so much silverware, she and the boys had been playing football out in the field and broken a neighbours window. As punishment, they had to polish the knives, forks, spoons and serving platters of everyone in the street - the smell of silver polish still made her reel. There must have been 12 different types of fork on the table before her, but she didn't for the life of her know why. The entire table was overdone, with flowers and elaborate set-pieces sitting between the diners. Melody was kind enough to tell her which fork she needed when, without the snooty 'don't you know?' attitude one would expect from such a upheeled lady.

"So ALL of your friends are boys?" she asked "Isn't that frightfully stifling?"

"No, I have some girl friends at school." Lizzie assured "But the boys and I have been together forever. I couldn't even begin to imagine my life without Gilbert and them!"

"This Gilbert is your gentleman friend?"

"Pardon?"

"Your fella!" Bernadette translated.

"What?!"

Lizzie started laughing - she knew it was a little cruel to Gilbert, but she just couldn't help it.

"Gilbert's practically my brother!" she assured "We'll stick be kicking each others... I mean, we'll still be giving each other a hard time when we're doddering old people. If I went out with him... it would feel the same as going out with Heracles, and that's just wrong!"

"I see." Melody reasoned as she took a dainty bite of her food "I suppose he's a very different type of boy from my Roderich?"

"They couldn't be more different." Lizzie agreed.

"I see." she said again "Roderich, you will be walking Lizzie home, won't you?"

* * *

It was some time later when Roderich and Lizzie ambled up her street - it had been dark for a couple of hours already, but Roderichs mother and aunt had been loathe to let her leave before getting every single detail of her life.

"I'm sorry." Roderich said again.

"It's okay." she assured yet again "Tonight was fun."

"Some of those questions were too personal."

Lizzie couldn't really argue with that. She had never really thought about her families fertility rates before, or if she planned on giving up work after getting married - were woman always so personal?

Roderich froze. Startled by his sudden stop, Lizzie followed his line of sight to her front gate, where a body was crouched over, arms around its knees. Roderich backed off, but Lizzie took of running, coming to her gate in seconds.

"Lizzie!" he called after her.

Hearing him call, the body looked up. Lizzie sunk to her knees and threw her arms around her friend.

"Oh my god, Feliks, what happened to your face?!" she cried, trying not to touch it even as she threw her arms around him.

"I got kicked out." the blonde admitted, smiling despite the busted lip and bleeding nose "I'm all, like, official now and stuff. I came out and said it. I'm pretty proud of myself."

"Feliks..."

"I don't want to cause trouble for Toris and his mum." he admitted "They've been so kind to me before... Can I stay here? Just until I find a new place? When I turn 18, I can pay you back."

"Don't be daft." she scolded "Of course you can stay. My dad likes you, so it's cool."

Feliks laughed, wincing a little.

"You dad's huge." he knew "My old man won't come near this place."

"How long were you waiting here?" she asked "Why didn't you call me? Or go to Gilberts?"

"I saw you leave with your fancy man." he teased "I didn't want to interrupt. And Gilbert's grandpa is chief of police, he'd make me go home."

"He'd arrest your dad for beating you up!" Lizzie knew, helping the blonde to his feet as Roderich caught up to them "And call me next time, you idiot, it doesn't matter what I'm doing!"

Roderich pulled a face when he recognised Feliks (the last time he saw him, he had been wearing a dress), but seeing the state of his face, kept his opinions to himself.

"Do you need a doctor?" he asked.

"Just a good woman and a good might sleep." he teased, putting his arms around Lizzie and giving her a squeeze.

Roderich pulled another face. Lizzie bopped Feliks on the head.

"Knock it off."

"Do you want me to stay until your brother gets home?" Roderich asked.

"That's fine." Lizzie assured him "I can take care of this - you still have to walk home."

"I'm not comfortable just leaving." he admitted.

"Honey, I'm more likely to jump you than her." Feliks pointed out, noticeably cocking his head to check out Roddys ass "Not as good as Toris..."

Roderich paled. Lizzie ordered him away again, and he begrudgingly left, looking over his shoulder every few steps until Lizzie and Feliks were inside. As she shut the door behind her, she felt his head gently land on her shoulder.

"Tell me I'm pretty." he whispered.

Lizzie turned around, taking the shaking boy in her arms.

"You are so, so pretty." she assured "You're beautiful. Like a diamond in a flower."

Feliks' whole body shuddered as he started to cry, throwing his arms around Lizzie.

"I'm sorry, Lizzie." he sobbed "This has been a long time coming, but I...I still..."

"I know, Feliks. It's okay, sweetie."

* * *

Sorry if that wasn't any good, but it's been a while. I hope you found something in it to enjoy! And please be kind if you point out typos - I don't have spellcheck yet. Three's A Crowd - not dead, just dawdling.


	5. Chapter 5 Start of the Season

My block may be over - I was able to chuck this out pretty easily, and I've got ideas about what to write tomorrow! Please enjoy this short chapter about nothing!

* * *

**Start of the Season.**

T'was the season. The art club hoisted the whiteboard from their clubroom, along with a box of pens and a rubber, while the teachers pretended not to notice, on the understanding that they would be returned when the season ended. The maths club drew up the leagues and calculated the odds, the student council keeping score and settling disputes when they cropped up, even acting as referees. Those not taking part stood on the sidelines, cheering and booing and throwing their snacks onto the pitch.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. It was football season, and this year the 'Rats' were unbeatable. With Arthur and Ivan finally in secondary school with them, they didn't have to draft Francis and Feliks in, so they had a goal keeper that could catch (and scare the crap out of people who got close to the goal), and a striker with a hell of a kick (and Arthur could run like you wouldn't believe too!). Gilbert took up the position of second striker, with Antonio relishing his place on the defence (football being one of the few things his parents would give him time off for). Lizzie, naturally, held the position of captain.

Natalya screamed in support of her brother as he caught the ball in his giant mits, a cacophony of boos and jeers coming from the 'Nordics' teams fans. Mathias clicked his tongue and punched the air as he jogged back to position. Eduard, todays ref, blew the whistle and play reconvened, followed by more cheers and screams.

"I don't get it." Roderich grimaced, sat on the folding chair at the edge of the pitch.

"As expected." Vash sighed.

"GET IN THERE, YOU MUPPET!" Lizzie roared at her strikers as they dodged around Tino and Lukas and headed for the goal where Berwald was waiting.

Mathias intercepted, tripping Arthur so he landed square on his face.

"FOUL!" Francis immediately screamed, jumping up from his chair "FOUL FOUL FOUL!"

Eduard blew the whistle, awarding them a free kick, to which Mathias threw his hands in the air and immediately started getting a lecture from Lukas. Francis had to be held back from rushing the field as Arthur picked himself up, bitching and swearing in the older boys direction as the wiped the blood and dirt from his face.

Having Berwald in goal was very similar to having Ivan in goal - he was big and scary, so strikers didn't want to approach him - but that didn't really help the 'Nordics' this game, since Ivan was Arthurs best friend and Gilbert cared more about winning than keeping the glory himself. Arthur lined up for his free kick.

"This is dull." Roderich complained.

"So go home." Vash countered "Go have some tea with our mothers."

Vash joined the crowd as everyone jumped to their feet in celebration of Athurs goal. Roderich blew air out of his nose and pushed his glasses up his face.

"I was invited." he reminded him "Lizzie would be upset if I slinked off."

"She's too busy beating the crap out of that spiky haired kid." Vash pointed out "She won't even notice."

"This one's making enough fuss." Roderich muttered, jabbing his thumb at Francis beside him "She's going to look over here eventually."

"His head is bleeding!" Francis continued to yell at Eduard "Brutes like Mathias shouldn't be allowed to play against little boys!"

"Shut the fuck up, Francis!" Arthur yelled back at him "I'm fine!"

"He's limping! Referee!"

"Shut up!"

Under pressure from Francis, Eduard blew the whistle and called Arthur off.

"I'm fine!" he continued to protest "Francis is just being a ninny!"

"Sorry, Arthur." Eduard apologised meekly "Your head is bleeding. Rules are rules. Ravis will fix you up, you can play again next game."

"That's bull!" Lizzie argued as she ran over, causing poor Eduard to jump back "If he says he good to play, he's good to play!"

"Don't be harsh!" Francis argued with her, pulling Arthur off the pitch "What if it was your brother?!"

"I'd disown him for quitting over something so pathetic! Let the boy play!"

"No!"

"You gonna sub, pretty boy?!"

"I'll sub." Vash offered, pulling off his jacket as he stood, ignoring Roderichs horrified expression.

"You any good?" Lizzie interrogated.

"It doesn't matter." Vash pointed out "You're 3 goals up with 2 minutes left."

"Good point."

"I'm better in defence, though."

"Fantastic. Antonio, you're second striker! Get in there, blondie!"

Arthur practically roared in frustration as Francis dragged him off to get his head looked at. Lizzie didn't even glance at Roderich as she led Vash back to the pitch, where the team took up their positions once again. His seat was immediately occupied by Feliks, causing Roderich to jump, and Francis' chair was taken over by Lilly.

"I can see why you like her, Roddy." Lilly announced "She's very authoritative, isn't she?"

"Oh honey, you have no idea." Feliks agreed, leaning over to see her better past Roderich "If I'm half the woman she is, I'd consider myself pretty lucky!"

"I love your beret!" Lilly enthused "Where did you get it?"

"I made it!"

"That's so pretty!"

"You make friends too easily." Roderich criticised.

* * *

The group ambled back to Lizzies after the match. Arthur grumbled, head and ankle bandaged as Francis carried him down the road. Gilbert and Antonio were fussing over Vash, who had lived up to his claim of being good in defence, while Ivan patted Arthur on the back with one hand, his sister monopolising the other.

"You'll get them next time." he reasoned.

"I shouldn't have been pulled off!" Arthur moaned.

"Big brother is carrying you home - how badly do you think you would have been hurt if you'd kept playing?" Francis lectured.

"What if had been Emil you tripped?!" Lukas bitched at Mathias "Would it have been 'no big deal' then? Think about your actions, you prick!"

Mathias got no sympathy from Berwald either.

"It won't matter if we win if they keep docking us points." Tino pointed out.

"Well, they shouldn't let under 16's play!" Mathias defended.

"You shouldn't be such a prick!"

"Can I help you with something?" Vash grimaced at Feliks, who openly stared at him.

"I, like, can't get over how much we look alike." Feliks admitted "If you were more fabulous, we could be twins."

"I'm fine the way I am."

"So this happens every year?" Roderich asked Elizavetta "It's like a tradition?"

"Exactly." she explained "Grandpa grew up here in Hetalia, and he claims they even used to play the five-a-side league when he was in school, but whether he's telling the truth is hard to tell."

"That's quite something. Are you always the captain?"

"We took turns when we were younger, but I was naturally better at it." she laughed "Francis was always too worried about getting dirty to be any good."

"And sweaty and stinky." Francis confirmed.

"But Ivan and Arthur are pretty good, so we're glad to have them on the team."

"That 'Rats' were fifth last year." Mathias pointed out.

"And the 'Nordics' were sixth!" Gilbert reminded him, kicking him on the back of the knees.

Gilbert sped off as Mathias took off after him.

"Mama said pizza's on her if we win." Antonio announced "Which, unless I fell asleep for the last two mintues, we did."

"From 'Carriedo's?" Tino asked.

"Where else would you get premium pizza in this town?" Antonio bragged.

"Hmmmm." Tino was clearly happy "How about we ask Lukas to run home and get us some premium ice-cream to go with it?"

"This idiot can do it." Lukas offered, tripping Mathias as he continued to chase Gilbert "Punishment for tripping a kid up so bad he bust his head open."

"I did not bust my head open!"

Arthur noticeably winced after his protestation, trying not to make it obvious that he squeezed Francis' shoulders a little tighter as his busted head ached. Lukas glared at Mathais.

"Run." he growled.

Mathias fled immediately. Roderich turned to Lizzie.

"Are Lukas and Arthur good friends?" he asked, to which she shook her head.

"Both Francis and Lukas belong to the 'brother complex' club." she told him with a laugh "Francis is the president, Lukas is the treasurer and Gilbert is their first member."

"What you say is absurd." Francis criticised.

"So put Arthur down and let him limp home." Lizzie growled, still bitter he had pulled the boy from the game in the first place.

"I'll do no such thing!"

* * *

It was crowded in the living room that evening, with the teams and their hangers on loitering on the sofas, Ottomans, cushions and floor, pizza and ice-cream piled high on the coffee table. Lizzies dad poked his head in long enough to get the final score and nab himself some pizza before going to shoot the breeze with Grandpa. With a couple of kids in the room, any attempt to turn the air blue was met with sever reproach by the 'brother complex' club.

Berwald and Tino left first as they lived the furthest away, followed soon after by Mathias, Lukas and Emil, who had fallen asleep in his brothers lap and had to be carried home. Ivan and his sister hung around until Katyusha came to pick them up, which Francis took as his cue to take Arthur home.

"Antonio's not leaving?" Roderich asked as he pulled on his coat at the front door "He's got a way to walk, and on his own."

"He's staying here tonight." Lizzie reported, causing him to flinch.

"Staying here? With you? Isn't that somewhat... improper? I mean... you are a young lady, afterall."

Lizzie waved off his concerns with an awkward laugh.

"You're a strange one, Roderich." she told him "Walking me home, kissing my hand, being concerned about my friends staying over... I didn't think boys like you existed outside of those romcoms Heracles likes."

Roderich pulled a face.

"I thought I was pretty normal." he sulked "Although I'm not 'rough-and-tumble' like your friends, but I got in my share of fights when I was a child!"

Lizzie smirked - she couldn't picture Roderich in a fight... at all.

"I just grew out of it." he went on "I preferred music to fighting."

"That and you sucked at it." Vash reminded him as he did up his boots "I was constantly saving his ass."

That, Lizzie could believe.

"Let me save you both some time." Vash offered as he stood, immediately panicking Roderich "Lizzie, he likes you, but the fact you're not a 'lady' bothers him since it makes him question his sexuality. Roddy, Lizzie likes you despite, or perhaps even because you're a complete and utter fop."

"A butch guy is no good for Lizzie!" Feliks agreed, appearing from behind purely to antagonise "You two should go on a date! Lizzie can dress nice and Roderich can impress her with his... charm?"

"Sounds great." Vash agreed "Shopping date on Sunday?"

"She will totally be there!"

"Can't wait."

Vash pulled Roderich away before he could argue, Lilly closing the door behind them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Feliks started to squeal. He leapt into the living room where Gilbert and Luddy were getting ready to leave.

"You will never guess who has a date on Sunday!" he declared.

"You finally blackmail Toris?" Antonio asked.

"Not me! LIZZIE!"

The sound of jaws dropping could be heard all around the town of Hetalia that night.

* * *

Sunshine and garden parties are over people. From this point on, things get complicated...


End file.
